


Stronger

by Apharine



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Light Angst, Parenthood, only a lil bit of angst tho bc new parents are tired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29536824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apharine/pseuds/Apharine
Summary: Nic and Raihan are new parents - and neither one of them feel completely comfortable with the role just yet.  Fortunately, they're stronger together than they are alone, and both are more than willing to remind the other of that.
Relationships: Kibana | Raihan/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Stronger

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for my good friend Jaz - whose birthday is TODAY!! She asked for a fic about her ship dealing with the struggles of new parenthood for her birthday, so be prepared for some feels with this one ;w;
> 
> Nic is Jaz's OC and is used here with permission! If you're not already familiar with Jaz's work, you can find her under the handle theunovanprince on Twitter!

There’s something amazing about holding a tiny version of you - and your wife - in your arms.

And by tiny, Raihan thinks to himself, he really _does_ mean tiny. Was he, the Dragon Tamer of Hammerlocke, ever so small that he could practically be enveloped in two human hands? 

Was Nic?

Raihan glances over to his wife, who he’s happy to see is up and about. He’d always known childbirth was difficult, but he hadn’t realized just how difficult until he’d watched Nic go through it. Plus, Raihan thinks grimly, nobody ever told him about the after-effects of birth and how bleeding, even a couple weeks after, could be common.

Some part of him has half a mind to tell her to please sit down right now and let _him_ take care of getting her some food. The other part of him is toying with the idea of asking her if she’d be interested in adopting their second child - because he’s pretty sure that even after all this, she still wants another kid someday. Raihan isn’t opposed - he’s always wanted to be a father, actually - he’s just not sure he wants to see her go through a second childbirth and recovery. He wouldn’t want to put himself through that, after all, so why should he expect her to do it?

But, as usual, whatever he thinks is immediately thrown out the window as Drake begins fussing in his arms.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Raihan coos in his little baby voice, holding his son close and trying to rock him back and forth. “What’s up, little guy?”

“Is he hungry?” Nic asks. Raihan’s heart melts at how _tired_ she sounds.

“He just ate about fifteen minutes ago, while you were napping,” Raihan says. “I could try to give him the bottle again, though…”

“He’ll probably spit up if we try to feed him again right now,” Nic says, ever the voice of reason. 

“Right,” Raihan says, mentally wondering why in Arceus’ name he made the mistake at least once a day of feeding Drake too much, too soon. Nic had told him it was most likely the fear of not doing enough for his son, which Raihan figures must be true. “Maybe he needs to be burped, then.”

Gently, carefully, Raihan rearranges the tiny human being in his arms, supporting his head and neck as he holds Drake over his shoulder. Once he’s situated and secure, Raihan begins giving him tiny pats on the back, beginning to sway back and forth as he does so.

“I can take him, if you want,” Nic says, worry in her eyes. Raihan knows it’s not a worry that he won’t do well, per se - it’s just the worry of a mother seeing their baby in distress. 

“Why don’t you get your food at least started on heating up first, love?” Raihan murmurs, swaying his way over to Nic and pressing a kiss to her temple. Nic smiles, leaning up and kissing him on the lips in return.

“All right. But then it’s my turn with my baby,” she says, a sparkle in her eyes, and Raihan can’t help but chuckle. 

“Sounds good.”

Drake continues fussing as Raihan continues to sway and burp him, and Raihan can’t help but feel a certain emotion bubbling up in his chest. It’s an odd mix of incompetence and frustration - though not frustration _at_ Drake, of course. No, if anything, Raihan is frustrated with himself, irritated that his tiny son who depends on him and Nic for everything in life could be so upset and Raihan himself could be completely unable to figure out how to help him.

Raihan knows he’s tired; raising a baby is every bit as exhausting as he’s heard it could be. His fatigue is almost certainly amplifying his emotions, and he knows this - but still, all the rationalizing in the world still isn’t enough to stop the tears that prickle at his eyes.

“Drake, my lil dragon,” he croaks, and right when he does, a tiny burp comes from Drake’s mouth, and his crying stops. 

Raihan immediately feels his frustration turn into absolute elation, and he turns towards Nic, a bright, sunny smile on his face.

“World’s number one dad here,” he beams.

Right as he finishes the sentence, Drake spits up all over his backside.

Raihan’s face falls as he feels the wet dribble soak into his clothes; Nic, for her part, can’t help but laugh.

“You _are_ the world’s number one dad,” she chuckles, moving to go get a soft washcloth. “Now give me my baby and go get yourself cleaned up.”

“But your food -” Raihan begins, frowning.

“I have two hands - and Drake has settled down for now,” Nic says, and Raihan reluctantly hands Drake over to her. “Is Daddy a stinky mess? Did you make him all gross?” She coos, nuzzling against Drake’s baby-soft skin.

“Baby used spit up,” Raihan deadpans. “And it was super effective.”

Nic laughs some more at this, pressing a quick kiss to Raihan’s cheek as he heads for their bedroom.

“Even a Dragon Tamer has his weaknesses,” Nic teases, and Raihan can’t help but smile.

* * *

As it turns out, Nic thinks to herself glumly, Fire-type Trainers have their weaknesses, too.

Raihan had talked to her a time or two about how difficult he found it when he couldn’t get Drake to settle down. She’d sympathized with him, of course, but never had she been unable to soothe Drake for _this_ long. She’d tried everything - changing his diaper (clean), feeding him (he still cried), burping him, singing to him, rocking him, setting him down - she’d even taken his temperature, just to be sure. 

Everything was, by all accounts, normal, and her baby boy was still upset.

Usually, even if Raihan couldn’t soothe Drake, Nic could. She’d secretly attributed it to the special bond between a mother and son; carrying him for nine months had to account for something, right? And so, when it had been her turn to get up in the middle of the night to go see why he was upset, she hadn’t been worried.

But now, Nic can’t help but feel as if that bond is failing her.

“I don’t know what you want,” she says in a small voice. It does no good; Drake keeps crying. “I’m so sorry.”

She’s _so_ tired, and so sad and lost. All her efforts to reassure herself, mentally, that she’s doing all right feel meaningless right now; she’s too exhausted, and too heartbroken and frustrated with herself.

Tears begin rolling down Nic’s cheeks.

“Hey,” a familiar voice calls; within moments, Nic is being enveloped by Raihan’s strong arms. “Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong? I came when I heard he wasn’t settling down - is he okay?”

“I don’t know,” Nic says, trying her best to recompose herself. “I can’t get him to stop crying.” As succinctly as possible, she runs through all of the things she’s tried already.

“Ohh,” Raihan sighs, pulling both Nic and Drake into his broad body. Nic melts into his warmth, burying her nose in his shoulder as he begins to rub circles into her back. “You’re doing your best, babe. You’re doing everything you can for him - you’re doing so good.”

“That’s the thing, though,” Nic sniffles. “I don’t _feel_ like I’m doing good at all. I can’t even help my own son stop crying. I just - I knew this whole thing would be hard, but I feel so underprepared right now. Like I’m really….really…I don’t even know,” Nic admits with a groan.

“Inadequate?” Raihan offers quietly. Nic nods against his shoulder. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Everyone says Drake isn’t even that fussy of a baby, but being unable to help him just leaves me feeling so powerless. We’ve stepped into a whole new life together, Nic. I don’t think that anyone would fault us for feeling underprepared - I’m pretty sure that’s part of the new parent experience. Maybe it’s just the three hours of glorious, uninterrupted sleep talking here,” Raihan laughs. “But I don’t think that feeling this way is abnormal at all.”

Nic nods, but can’t bring herself to pull away from Raihan’s shoulder just yet.

“What if I don’t end up being a good mom?” She whispers, just loud enough for her to hear herself. “What if, no matter how hard I try, it’s just never enough for him? I’m so afraid.”

Raihan pauses, letting one of his hands come up to caress the tiny baby in Nic’s arms.

Afraid. He can understand that. Drake is so small, so fragile - so dependent on them. And they’re just a couple of Gym Leaders - what qualifications did he, the Dragon Tamer of Hammerlocke, have to be a dad?

Just his desire to be a good father, he figures.

“You will be enough for him,” Raihan says, his voice firm yet gentle. “Because you’ll never stop trying. I know you, Nic. I know that inner fire that illuminates your soul. You may be tired and afraid now - and that part of you may never completely go away. But you’ll light your own path through this and find a way forward for both you and Drake. He’s going to love you, because you’re never going to stop giving him any less than your best. Neither of us will ever be perfect - but if we can just give our best, he’ll…”

Raihan trails off, realizing that something is different.

“He’s stopped crying,” Nic breathes, wonder in her voice.

“He has,” Raihan realizes with a quiet chuckle. “Maybe he just wanted to hear Mommy _and_ Daddy’s voices.”

“Arceus,” Nic laughs, shaking her head. “And to think I was breaking down over this.”

“It’s valid, though, Nic,” Raihan says gently, kissing her on the top of her head. “You know I’ve felt the same way about being inadequate to soothe him….and inadequate to protect you. I know nothing _really_ bad happened during your childbirth,” he says quickly, seeing the way her eyebrows furrow. “But still - I - I wanted to take all that pain away from you. Both during labor and after. And it killed me that I couldn’t. And I worry about not being good enough as a father, too.”

A long silence stretches out between the two of them, the only noise the occasional cooing of Drake in his slumber.

“I think you’re right, you know,” Nic finally says. “About giving it our best and doing what we can, and about how that will be enough for Drake in the long run. Nobody comes into this thing knowing how to be a perfect parent, and being overwhelmed is normal.” She takes a steadying breath, and Raihan can’t help but notice the way her breath shudders just slightly.

His poor wife had really been upset.

“Promise me you’ll remind me of my own words next time I get all upset with myself,” Raihan murmurs, squeezing Nic just a little tighter.

“As long as you’ll do the same for me,” she agrees, and Raihan can’t help but smile, craning his neck down to steal a kiss on the lips from Nic.

He doesn’t know what the future will bring, and neither does she - but as long as they try their best for their little family, they both know that everything will work out all right.

“Let’s get you some more sleep, love,” Raihan murmurs against Nic’s lips, and she nods.

“I need every bit I can get.”

As she lays Drake back down, Raihan can’t help but admire her.

She may have felt inadequate when she was trying her best to soothe their son, but in Raihan’s eyes, she’s never been stronger.


End file.
